Disclaimer: All the characters herein, with the exception of some random extras, are the intellectual property of Eiichiro Oda and all the companies involved with publishing and production of the One Piece manga and anime. I just twisted 'em a bit.
Spoilers/Warnings: This story will eventually encompass the entire first season of the anime, which is up to about halfway through volume 11 of the manga, just so you know. This is an AU, so many things have been changed/altered/warped to suit my needs. Also, there is some language and violence.
Pairing: None. However, I like subtext, so you can probably find hints of just about anything, if you look for it.
Dedication: To the OP at the fanforall at LJ, for requesting a cowboy AU and spawning this in my brain. Many thanks to Dandy Wonderous for beta-ing.
A/N: Name order for all characters has been westernized. Don't like it? Tough cookies! I do not claim to be an expert on anything involving gun fighting, the old west, or the cavalry. I did some very basic research for some of this, but I probably got lots of stuff wrong. Humor me!
Part 26- Final Battle
As Luffy strode into view, coming from behind the house, Arlong tossed Zoro away. The gunman skidded along the ground for a few feet, then lay still. Arlong glanced over to his discarded shotgun. He could reach the weapon in a few strides, but Luffy was rapidly closing the distance between them. Luffy himself was unarmed, having lost his hold on his own weapon at some point while being dragged behind the horse.
"You're a surprisingly tenacious individual, young man," Arlong chuckled, inching slowly toward his weapon. "Most anyone else wouldn't be able to stand, after what you've been through."
"My grandpa used to say I was like a rubber ball." Luffy's face and tone remained dead serious as he spoke. "I bounce back." He suddenly darted forward and slid, kicking the shotgun away again before Arlong could put a hand on it. Luffy then sprang to his feet, launching a vicious right uppercut. Arlong managed to lurch backward and dodge the blow. The former outlaw swung an arm out in a retaliatory blow, but Luffy was no longer in the same spot. Arlong sidestepped an unexpected jab to the gut, catching a glancing blow to his side. He rapidly backpedaled, hoping to put some space between himself and his opponent. One of his feet slid in the dirt and he fell to one knee.
"I guess this will teach me to underestimate an opponent." Arlong grinned slyly, locking eyes with Luffy. He closed his fist around a handful of dirt and waited for Luffy to move in for an attack.
"I learned something too, you know," Luffy remarked, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet. The boy paused expectantly.
"Oh?" Arlong decided to humor him, hoping to prompt Luffy into action.
"Yeah." Luffy lunged left, then spun on his toe and swiftly changed direction. Arlong recognized the feint too late, and the handful of dirt meant to blind Luffy hit nothing but air. "You fight dirty," Luffy informed him, from right next to his ear. Arlong never even saw the blow coming.
As he pulled himself back to his feet, Arlong's carefully maintained composure broke. He had obviously become too complacent in this quiet town. It had been too long since his last real knock down, drag out fight, but if this punk thought he was going to be some sort of pushover, he was dead wrong.
"That's enough fooling around," Arlong snarled, wiping a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.
"I haven't been fooling around," Luffy countered with a shrug. "If you haven't been taking this seriously, that's your own fault."
Arlong growled and stepped forward, fists raised. The two men exchanged a flurry of blows and blocks, dancing around one another, bobbing and weaving, searching for a weakness in the other's defenses. After a few, long moments, they backed off temporarily to catch their breath.
"Not bad, for a brat," Arlong grunted begrudgingly, "but not good enough." He had managed to maneuver himself close enough to his shotgun that all he needed to do was bend down and grab it. Luffy noticed his eyes darting to the weapon and they both lunged for it at the same time. Arlong's hand reached it first, clamping onto the stock, but Luffy got a grip on the barrel scarcely a moment later. Arlong scrambled to pull the trigger, but Luffy directed the blast harmlessly into the dirt at their feet.
Luffy tried to pull the gun away from Arlong, but he pulled back just as fiercely. Changing tactics, Luffy instead shoved the gun away from himself, ramming the butt of the weapon into Arlong's stomach. Arlong's breath left him in a rush and suddenly numb fingers relinquished their grip on the gun. Luffy tossed the weapon away again and hauled the gaping Arlong up by his shirt collar.
"I oughta kill you," Luffy hissed, eyes narrowed. "You sure enough deserve it! I won't, though."
Sanji, Genzo, and Nojiko appeared around the side of the house, the girl leading the now much calmer horse. Luffy dragged the still dazed Arlong over to the animal and heaved him up and across the saddle. He used the remains of the rope used against him originally to bind Arlong's wrists and ankles and then connected the bindings under the horse. Luffy moved so he could look Arlong directly in the eye as he spoke.
"I won't be here to stop you from trying to come back here, 'cause I plan on heading further west, but I don't think these fine people here'll have any problems taking care of your sorry hide, if you try it." He smirked and raised one hand, holding the flat of the palm above the horse's rump. "Enjoy your ride!" The hand came down with a resounding smack, and the horse was off like a shot.
Luffy's smile faded as his eyes settled on the still form of Zoro. The gunman hadn't moved an inch since Arlong had tossed him to the ground.
"Hey, Zoro?" Luffy called over to the body. "You dead?"
His only response was a low snore.
Nami walked up beside him, the straw hat held firmly by the brim in both hands.
"Thank you, Luffy." There were tears in her eyes, but the smile was genuine. "I wish I knew how I could make it up to you..."
"That's easy," Luffy told her, snatching the hat from her and placing it back on his head, where it belonged. "Join my gang and call me Boss." Nami snorted.
"Anything else, Boss?" Luffy thought it was funny how she said it in the exact same tone Zoro and Sanji used. Must be some special tone reserved for really great bosses like him! His stomach growled loudly.
"I'm hungry."
"I think we can take care of that," Nojiko laughed. The small crowd cheered in agreement.
"Well, isn't this sweet," a voice sneered from behind them, startling everyone. They turned to see Marshal Nezumi and several of his men, including one leading several pack horses, one with the chest from Nami's. "I came back to, er, renegotiate the terms of my agreement with Arlong, but it seems I've found a perfect opportunity, instead."
"Huh?" Luffy asked, confused.
"With Arlong gone, I'll take over this operation, and all the mine's income will go to me! Everyone clear out of here, and no one will be harmed." Nezumi's men drew their weapons and everyone gasped in dismay. All but one.
"You interrupted a celebration." Nezumi's eyes widened in surprise and he turned to see Zoro standing right next to his horse, a revolver pointed at the marshal's face. No one had noticed Zoro slip up beside the man, it was like he'd appeared out of thin air. "That's mighty rude."
"S-stand down, men!" Nezumi ordered, swallowing audibly.
"You listen to me," Nami commanded in an icy tone. "This town is free now, so you clear out, before we decide to do to you what we did to Arlong."
"Of course!" Nezumi's tone was oily and ingratiating. "We'll just be on our way, then!"
"Hold it." Nami walked up on the opposite side of Nezumi's horse from Zoro. "Leave my money and the gold you got from Arlong. I know you've got it with you." Nezumi nodded frantically and commanded that Nami's chest, as well as some others, be unloaded. "One more thing." Nezumi didn't like the smile on Nami's face one bit. "This is for shooting Nojiko!" The marshal suddenly found the end of a walking stick making contact with the side of his face.
"Get going," Zoro prompted, poking Nezumi's knee with a second gun. Sanji, meanwhile, had retrieved his rifle. Both he and Usopp, who had arrived quietly moments earlier, leveled their weapons at Nezumi.
"Don't try and double cross the lady," Sanji advised. "We'll be watching you until you're out of sight, and believe me, my long distance aim is impeccable."
"Take the rest of this garbage with you," Genzo added. While they had been talking, he and several of the men from town had gathered up Kuroobi and Hatchi. Chu was already bound on his horse.
"You'll all pay for this!" Nezumi seethed. "I'll make sure they put prices on your heads!"
"Woohoo!" Luffy cheered. "How much?" Nobody else seemed fazed by the threat. With an angry huff, Nezumi turned and led his men away. True to their word, Sanji and Usopp kept them in their sights until they were out of view.
"Alright, everyone," Genzo announced gleefully, "let's go spread the good news!"
End Notes:
As seems to be the way of things in this story, I'm not too find of this Luffy fight. Maybe I should have let Arlong get in a few hits? Not that it isn't fun just having Luffy mop the floor with him...
I had to go back and check the manga to see who confronts Nezumi first, and it made me laugh. One panel, Nezumi's standing there smugly with a crowd of marines behind him, then Zoro's suddenly right behind him in the next. The marines all have these fantastic "WTF?! Where'd he come from?!" expressions on their faces! XD